Glance
by SeaBreeze
Summary: Sanosuke thinks about Kaoru and what might've been.
1. Soup

Glance  
  
By Seabreeze  
  
A/N: As much of a Kenshin/Kaoru fan I am, I've always kind of toyed with the idea of Sanosuke harboring feelings for Kaoru. Obviously, Kaoru would never ever choose ANYONE over Kenshin, and if she did it would be completely out of character. And Sano would never do anything to betray Kenshin in any way, so the pairing would never work. But I think a little is nice. . . that it is. This is probably a one-shot, unless enough people want more and I can think of something more to write on.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin or Sanosuke or Kaoru or absolutely anything from Rurouni Kenshin.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Sano spit out the soup that he had just spooned into his mouth.  
  
"Kami-sama, Jou-chan! I didn't know it was possible to burn soup." He said, wiping the bitter hot liquid from his mouth. Kaoru glared at him, and then Yahiko decided to join in.  
  
"Yeah, busu, only you could burn soup. . . arrrrgg, he's right, that's terrible!" he mimicked the gang member and spit out the soup in a hurry. Kenshin sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he saw Kaoru's fists clenching dangerously.  
  
"It's not so bad, that it's not," he said nervously, cringing as Yahiko and Sano were promptly covered in hot soup. Kaoru crossed her arms and glared at the three of them. Yahiko stumbled away, hands over his eyes.  
  
"My eyes, my eyes! They burn!"  
  
"If you don't like my cooking, fine! I'll just cook for myself from now on." She stormed off, and Kenshin worriedly followed. Sano laughed inwardly at the two and wiped the soup from his face. His reflexes had told him to close his eyes, unlike poor Yahiko.  
  
He watched the two of them, particularly Kaoru-dono. She was a ticking bomb, that one was. Kenshin fruitlessly tried to calm the girl, but she wouldn't be calmed.  
  
"Kaoru-dono, they were just teasing about the soup. . ." he began.  
  
"No we weren't!" came Yahiko's voice from somewhere off in the dojo. Sano chuckled and Kaoru turned to him.  
  
"Shut up, you two free-loading idiots!" she yelled, shoulders tight and fists clenched. Kenshin put his hands gently on her shoulders and Sano watched as her anger seemed to melt away instantly at his touch, but she shoved him off and stomped away. Yahiko approached the former manslayer, eyes red but grinning.  
  
"She must be nearing her womanly times," he snickered. Kenshin smiled, but concern could be seen in his eyes. He returned and sat next to Sano, and they continued eating silently without their female landlord.  
  
Sanosuke picked up a piece of bread, not rock-hard as it usually was, and chewed silently. Kaoru-dono's fire had always been attractive to him, especially when it came out of such a small form. Sure, Kaoru was tiny and delicate and pretty as a lily, but watch out if you insulted her or her cooking. He could count the visible bruises from the numberless times she had beat him. He grinned and rubbed a spot on his temple that was still sore from a few days ago.  
  
'Attractive', Sano thought with a grin, 'but dangerous.' He saw that Kenshin was watching him curiously, and, almost. . . knowingly.  
  
"What's so funny, Sano?" Kenshin asked lightly, checking almost instantaneously back at Kaoru. Sano shook his head.  
  
"Burnt soup," he grunted, and Yahiko began laughing uncontrollably again. Kenshin smiled appreciatively, but went back to his meal. Sanosuke concentrated on his soup and let himself sink into serious thought.  
  
Of course it was an unspoken rule that Kaoru belonged to Kenshin. No one- NO ONE- dared even look at her oddly when Kenshin was around. It wasn't that he made it so obvious that she was his, it was just. . . a feeling. A feeling of "she's his, and that's it". No one WANTED to have it any other way, including Sano himself. They were just too fun to watch. Not to mention the fact that Kaoru would probably lose it without Kenshin, and that to him, she was the epitome of his new life. Something that innocent and pure was rare, something you never wanted to go away. Something that made you feel lucky to even sit there and watch it from afar. Like the light that shone from them touched all those around them, including himself.  
  
Not that he had never imagined himself as the center of the light, instead of just being touched by it. He had probably imagined being with Kaoru beyond what was right, at least while he was Kenshin's friend. He didn't resent them- far from it. He admired and was happy for them. Yet he couldn't help but wish, sometimes, that he had been the one to find Kaoru first and to cure her lonliness. That he could be the one she looked up to and loved so wholly and obviously. That his life could have some sort of innocence and purity somewhere, or more specifically with Kaoru.  
  
Presently he sighed and set his soup down.  
  
"I'll go get her and apologize," he said, rolling his eyes as if this was a chore. Yahiko groaned, but Kenshin smiled at him with a nod. Sano stood, stretched, and lazily headed towards the tree Kaoru was sitting sulkily against.  
  
"You'd better come join us again, Jou-chan," he threatened the small girl gently. Kaoru glared at him.  
  
"Why should I?" she demanded, wiping an angry tear away from her face. Sano crumbled very slightly inwardly. He leaned against the tree next to her.  
  
"Because you're worrying poor Kenshin to death over there," Sano replied sensibly. Kaoru just huffed in response. "Oh, come on, Kaoru. It's not his fault. You know Yahiko and I like to give you a hard time. Kenshin had nothing to do with it, and he's paying. Now come back over and give him some peace of mind." Kaoru stood and glared at him.  
  
"Fine, but I'm ONLY doing it because of Kenshin. And I'm NEVER cooking for you and Yahiko again!" she stormed over to where Kenshin and Yahiko were eating, and Sano watched her for a moment and then followed.  
  
*~*~*  
  
A/N: See? I AM a Kenshin/Kaoru fan. I just think Sano's a damn hottie and that he kinda has a thing for Kaoru. I dunno about her. As of now, this is a one shot, but if enough people want more. . . * shrugs * we'll see. Please read and review! Thanks! 


	2. Dreams

Glance  
  
Dreams  
  
By Seabreeze  
  
A/N: Ah, well, I decided to continue this story. For several reasons, but mainly because I got so much good response! Thanks so much! It means a lot. I think this is the most reviews I've gotten for one chapter of a story, and after that evidence, who can NOT go on? So on I go. After the story I'll have thank you's. Oh, and does anyone know how to get italics and bolds to show up on ffn? It annoys the bejeebees out of me.  
  
*~*~*  
  
~~He awoke to something soft bumping into him- a body. 'Yahiko,' he groaned inwardly. 'Learn how to sleep in less than 39 positions before you find a wife.' He moved as quietly as possible to shove the younger boy back to his cot, but quickly discovered that Yahiko's hair had grown about 5 times its  
usual length, and was now braided and silky.  
  
Kaoru.  
  
He froze, unsure of what to do. The much-smaller girl was curled up  
against him, and seemed to be sleeping heavily. Her nose touched his  
bare chest, and her breath warmed it every three seconds or so. She  
looked so content there- against him. He didn't want to move her, but  
didn't want to face anyone's odd looks in the morning, having found  
him wrapped around Kaoru. Reluctantly he shifted away, only to have  
her grab his coat.  
  
"Don't move, Kenshin", she pleaded softly, still as asleep as she had  
been before. Sano smiled bitterly. 'She called me Kenshin.' He thought  
sadly. 'She thinks I'm Kenshin.' Part of him wanted to shove her away  
for making the mistake, and part of him wanted to take advantage of  
it. 'No one'll ever know the difference, as long as I wake up earlier  
than any of them,' he thought, but he immediately knew better.  
Shifting again and ignoring her whispered pleas, Sano lifted her  
gently and stood.  
  
"Back to your cot, Jou-chan." He whispered tenderly. Still  
unconscious, Kaoru kissed his chin.  
  
"Arigato, Sanosuke."  
  
Sano froze and stared at her. Yes, she was still asleep. But she had  
kissed him. She had called him Sanosuke- not Rooster-head or anything.  
Sanosuke. It sounded melodic coming from her. Sighing in regret, Sano  
set her gently down in her own cot and pulled the covers up to her  
chin for her.  
  
"Goodnight, Kaoru." When he looked up, golden eyes met his own. They  
glared harshly into his own, and he for some reason felt guilty.  
  
"Seems like Jou-chan's learning sleeping habits from Yahiko," he  
commented quietly. Kenshin said nothing, but drew the reverse-blade  
and slashed. Everything went black.~~  
  
~*~*~  
  
Sano's eyes flew open- black. Black. But. . . he had opened his eyes. Sitting up slowly, he saw that everything was in its correct spot- Kaoru neatly tucked under her blankets, Yahiko sprawled crookedly on top of his, and Kenshin, fast asleep, against the wall.  
  
It had been a dream. A good dream that had very quickly turned bad, but only a dream. Kaoru had never unknowingly snuggled against him, and Kenshin had never beheaded him. Sano shivered- it had been so realistic. He could recall feeling Kaoru and her closeness and her breath, and Kenshin's sword slicing easily through his skin.  
  
'I could've done without the end of the dream,' Sano thought with a yawn, 'But up until Kenshin showed, it was great.' He grinned, but the grin slowly faded as he realized what he had just thought.  
  
'Letting a girl make me think terrible things about Kenshin,' he scoffed. "And only Jou-chan," he barely whispered to the night. Sano settled back into his blankets and fell asleep once again.  
  
And 'only Jou-chan' was a term that came quite easily to Sanosuke nowadays. Only Kaoru could make him wish Kenshin wasn't a part of the picture, make him wish he had been the one she became so attached to. Only Kaoru made him want to BE better, just by existing- no other girl had come close. Kaoru made him want to give up gambling and sake and dining without paying. Kaoru made him actually want to be respectable and kind and gentle- especially gentle. More specifically, gentle with her. What he wouldn't give to be gentle with her. . .  
  
Hadn't he always heard that was what love was? Wanting to be better just for her, just because she was there? In that case, he really was in love with her. Not only wanting to be better- he just KNEW. He knew, without a doubt, that she was THE girl. The girl he was supposed to love, although he knew this didn't necessarily mean she would love him in return. And she didn't. That was what Kenshin was for.  
  
~*~*~  
  
A/N: I'm going to continue this, I'm just not exactly sure how yet. Suggestions wouldn't be thrown away carelessly, if you've got one. Now I feel like I have to explain- I am totally, 100% for Kenshin and Kaoru. Together forever, etc. But something about Sano being in love with Kaoru really struck me, and I felt it quite deeply * gets corn thrown at her * I know, I know. But it's really quite sad if you think about it. So I'm going to keep on with this one, and somewhere along the line it'll pick up some plot. Maybe.  
  
If you care to know what I think on Megumi and Sanosuke, it's changed a little in the past week. From the beginning, I thought Sano kinda had feelings for Kaoru, but saw that Kenshin did too and was just kinda like "eh, well, I'll back up. Hey, Megumi!"  
  
And I know that Sano and Megumi do (did? Will have? Whatever.) have a thing, and it's really obvious (take the Happy Kaoru! Episode. . . that was hysterical.) And I know that they flirted a whole hell of a lot, and that they cared for eachother, but I don't really know about love. Maybe, maybe not. We don't get enough material to tell a lot on those two. But now I think that Sano tried something with Megumi (as in relationship. . . you hentai!) and realized that he didn't feel as strongly about her as he did about Kaoru, so it just kind of. . . faded. And that's my hypothesis. On to thanks!  
  
too lazy to sign in ^^;; - first reviewer! Yay! Thanks mucho for checking out my story. I'm glad you like it, and that I'm not the only one who looks at Sano and goes "hmmmm."  
  
aliza- I'm glad you think my fic is cute- but I can' guarantee that Kaoru will fall for Sanosuke. * shrugs * whoooo knooooows. . .  
  
Hells-angel- thank you very much, for reading and for your kind comments :D I am continuing, obviously :P  
  
LittleDragon5- I think I (and anyone who enjoys this fic) owe it to you, for giving me the information and making me WANT to write more. Arigato! I hope you keep reading :D Thanks bunches.  
  
Disposablepaperhearts- I love you too! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I will continue ;)  
  
Briar- thank you! I totally agree with you about all the Kenshin guys being sweet to Kaoru- it's really cute. Do you read Tamora Pierce, by any chance?  
  
Clemen- * high five * yay for people who suspect Sano of actually having a heart (especially when it comes to Little Missy ;) )  
  
Some unknown person. . .- yeah, I'm going on with this. I can sorta agree with you about the Kenshin/Kaoru fics, but some of those out there are REALLY good. Take Rk-128's fics, "Liquid Dreams" and "Kendo, Dancing, and Everything in Between". It's really fun, and has major potential for fluff. Chibi-angel is flat-out MIND-BLOWING as well, if you want to read some good ones.  
  
Blankis- Sano on the side. I like that. I know I would never refuse it. . . ahem. I plan to have some sort of Kenshin's reaction, but it's going to develop. Well, you'll see.  
  
Reviewer- glad to offer variety ;) . But if you want some good K/K ones, check out my message to "some unknown person". Thanks for readin'! 


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